Psychosocial Approach to the Development Process of Human Life - Essay Example

? Synopsis Chapter The elaborate literature on psychosocial approach to the development process of human life is a fundamental research material for the analysis of different perspectives associated with the development of society as a relationship with human psychology. The first chapter of the book ‘Development through Life: A Psychosocial Approach’ (Newman & Newman, 2012) explores the knowledge related to the development from the perspective of life. The detailed organization of the studies in this chapter allocates provisions for easy understanding of the socially influential situations of life, which may cover the areas like societal, biological and psychological requirements of human beings. This chapter is a testing tool to estimate how individuals recognize the difference between their needs and actual situations and how they adopt to the changing conditions. The variation in the discriminative cognitive levels causes the formation of proactive or passive behavior among people to respond to their emotional as well as psychosocial needs. The need for accommodating behavior emphasizes on the societal life and the capability of an individual to react positively towards the inappropriate conditions is usually the part of his natural development. Environmental factors, accidents, diseases, life style patterns etc. have a direct influence on the multilevel development of an individual. As such, a decline in health condition and various physical merits can create a negative impact on the wellbeing of the individual. Another great factor for the reference is poverty and its causes from the perspective of life. As the chapter suggests, poverty has multiple socio-economic and psycho-social reasons. Various derivative problems in the productivity of a person’s resourceful mind cause disrupted family relationship, lack of education, low health levels, diminishing life span and overall infrastructural development apart from low energy levels and heavy frustration which may incriminate an individual. Chapter 2 The second chapter of the book entitled ‘Major Theories for Understanding Human Development’ focuses the studies on various processes through which human life develops psychologically. In this regard, several theories are referred and interpreted for the analysis of their implications in human life. A detailed study of theories like the theory of evolution, psychosexual theory, cognitive developmental theories, theories of learning, cultural theory, social role theory, and systems theory are visibly helpful in comprehending the details. In theory of evolution, a wide suggestion is that genetic transfer of parental qualities to children has a considerable role in the psychological development. Darwin’s observations were in support of the natural law of adaptation and survival quest of that are the basis for reproduction for human beings like any living organism (p. 26). The psychological importance of this theory is applicable in all the stages of life varying from birth to reproduction. Psychosexual theory suggests that sexual drives of young children have great influence in their development process. A basic assumption of this theory is that experiences during the childhood reflect in the development of adult thoughts in the growing ages. During the stages of psychosexual development, the functioning of the mind goes in three ways such as conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. Cognitive development and learning ability are related to the psychosexual development in an individual’s life. Freud’s opinion is that the growth of an individual’s personality is proportionate to the psychosexual development that develops defense mechanisms related to all kinds of emotional responses like anger and regression (p. 32). Social relationship and peer behavior are developed through the individual’s consideration for social identity. A consolidated implication of all the developmental theories functions as a basement for the completely socialized human life. Social theory perspective, the individual learns to accept necessary changes and meet requirements for conceptual things like learning, communication, appreciation of arts expression of socially relevant opinions etc. Chapter 3 The third chapter ‘Psychosocial Theory’ is an elaborated reading based on the social implication of an individual’s psychological development. The case studies and findings expressed in the research literature help the reader explore the areas related to concepts like stages of development, developmental and psychosocial crisis of different stages of life and their resolutions, etc. The organizing framework for the human development is the basic objective of evolving psychosocial theory. The concepts like stages of development, developmental tasks, radius of significant relationships and coping are the prime focus in this chapter. Psychosocial theory refers to the development of individuals throughout their life span with self learned tactics to cope up with the crisis which have both biological and psychological influence (p. 62). Developmental stages in this perception have their role to perform in the developmental tasks which teach the individual to respond to challenges and find solutions. Psychosocial crisis is associated with the individual’s disapproving performance as a comparative relationship between his capabilities and the expectation of the society. Coping with conflicting situations and extreme changes in life requires continuous efforts of individuals with the application of psychosocial developmental concepts. Critical happenings in the life may pose serious differences in the developmental stages of an individual and they may have an influence in his approach to the society in general. The strength people gain from the developmental tasks and from the coping behavior mark the significance of psychosocial development in the process of handling challenges in life like emotional losses and consistency of life style etc. Chapter 4 The fourth chapter ‘The Period of Pregnancy and Prenatal Development’ is a comprehensive analysis of the biochemical importance of transfer of genetic information through generations. It also serves as a basic platform for identifying the genetic factors which are fundamental for controlling the entire developmental process. The trimesters of pregnancy development is taken for comparative evaluation of the factors influential to disrupt the prenatal development of an individual. The elaborate study of pregnancy and childbirth concerns are systematically developed in a correlative way of these conditions with other important aspects like, maternal age, parental expectations, narcotic consumption, nutrition and the presence of environmental toxins. The study gives a great value to the aspects of cultural impact on pregnancy and child birth with valued notes on the psychosocial perspective of abortion and related conflicts in a woman’s life. Most importantly, pregnancy is a predominant change in life in the psychological perspective. Pregnant woman are expected to exhibit a mixture of anxiety, depression, excitement and happiness with miserable feeling about the health conditions of the forthcoming offspring (p. 112). Men, on the other hand, have a blend of parental excitement which often slightly shadowed by the fears of threat to the spouse’ health as well as financial stability concerns related to the new responsibility. Emotional requirements standing as part of pregnancy and childbirth are equally important to both parents, and in men, the very aspect brings promisingly inspiring changes in their psychological development associated with parental responsibility. Cultural perspectives also contribute psychological importance to the gestation period for women as to which they are expected to be exposed to many evil spirits during their pregnancy (p. 124). The general changes happening with pregnancy and child birth gradually inflicts psychological variations in the thoughts and behavior of parents and the anxiety and fear factors during pregnancy are advised to be eliminated for the better development of fetus with proper transfer of genetic information. Chapter 5 Chapter 5 looks into the developmental progress of very small babies. This stage deserves special attention because as the authors point out, babies at this stage are easily over-stimulated and have little experience in social interaction. It is generally found that babies born before full gestational maturity have higher risk of developmental disabilities than their full-term counterparts. Studies have shown that such babies are less able to establish rhythmic patterns of social interaction. When the reason behind this poor adaptability is investigated, it is found that there are two important rhythms the coordination of which is necessary to properly react to stimuli. The two factors are sleep-wake cycle and vagal tone. It is found that full term infants have higher scores in these two factors and are better able to engage in synchronous interactions. On the other hand, babies without gestational maturity have poor scores in vagal tone and sleep-wake cycle. Thereafter, the chapter moves towards the various sensory/perceptual and motor functions at this stage. During this period, the sensory/perceptual system develops at a faster pace than the motor functions. Because of this poor motor function, it is difficult to study the sensory/perceptual competencies of infants. Habituation is the process of getting used to a stimulus as the same or similar stimulus appears again and again. In fact, it is the habituation that acts as the very basic form of learning for infants. Another area is the development of brain in infancy. Most infants have properly developed sensory organs at the time of birth. Though the basic brain structure does not change, the nerve system presents neural plasticity. That means, new interconnections and pathways among neurons occur based on learning and experiences. At the prenatal stage, there is a dramatic increase in the production of neurons, dendrites, and synapses, and this process is known as Transient exuberance. As a result, the infant becomes able to form new neural connections depending on the stimuli it receives. The changes in the brain of an infant at this stage include the development of neurons, increased growth of axons and dendrites, development of synapses, formation of neurotransmitters, and the production of glial cells to give stability to the neural network. Thus, it becomes evident that infants at this stage are capable of absorbing a large number of stimuli and getting used to various patterns of social interactions. At this stage, parents have an important role to play in the emotional and intellectual growth of infants. The role includes providing toys, sounds, and visual stimulation; thus providing a variety of experiences which give adequate challenges to overcome and adequate chances of success. Also, infants observe how their parents cope with various emotional situations and how they show various emotional reactions. In order to substantiate this claim, it is pointed out that infants of depressed mothers too become passive and inhibited in their responses to the environment. It is the understanding of this increased cognitive development at this stage that promoted the market for intellectually stimulating toys for infants. However, the mere fact is that the most important forms of stimulation are rhythmic interactions by parents and caregivers, positive tone, and comforting and soothing care. Thus, the chapter concludes with the point that the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development requires the loving care of parents, family members and other people like community caregivers through healthy and supportive relationships. Also, there is the realization that parents who have mutuality and trust are effective in developing a supportive and caring family environment for their children. However, in a society, parents are not isolated beings. They often require the active social support from people like friends, health care and mental health professionals. Chapter 6 Chapter 6 specifically discusses toddlerhood that ranges from age 2-3. The child’s mental and physical development is very fast during this phase. A child in toddlerhood would be highly active and starts to walk on his own legs. He will closely notice his surrounding environment and will be extremely reactive to various events. A child in this age always tries to get others’ concentration. The author clearly reflects that the toddler will make significant improvements in language development by closely listening to his parents and other people. Fantasy play is another notable aspect of toddlerhood. He adds that achievement of a sense of personal autonomy is the most noticeable feature of this age group. Fantasy play is another notable aspect of toddlerhood. However, the autonomy development leads to psychosocial issues including incessant doubts and high sensitivity to shame. To illustrate, a child seems to be very shy when a person or group of people look(s) at him. Similarly, he always doubts how to approach a task, whether or not to do a particularly task, or how to interact with others. Limitation is the central process in a child’s development and it promotes cultural transmission over generations. After the middle of this phase, the child gradually adapts to ego quality and hence compulsion would cause notable changes in his attitude. The author says that poverty can have a range of negative impacts on the psychological development of a child in toddlerhood. Chapter 7 Chapter 7 is a look into the early school age which ranges from 4 to 6 years. This age marks the expansion of a child’s social world. This is so because the child comes into contact with new adults and peers. Also, the child encounters new social norms and values along with a lot of new information. Admittedly, this stage is marked by an increased understanding and experiencing of self, and the most important one among them is gender identification. While sex refers to the biological maleness or femaleness, gender refers to the complex cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioral patterns which are linked to being a boy or a girl. The mere fact is that in order to gain proper gender identity, it is necessary to integrate one’s own physical experiences, knowledge, and observations with the socialization messages from family, friends and culture. The case study of Lee, a mother of six children, shows that she did not have proper gender identification in her early school years because her parents and society did not give her appropriate socialization messages to make her feel herself different from her cousin Bob. From the description, it becomes evident that based on the cognitive inputs about one’s own gender, a child develops gender scheme. It is the child’s own understanding about the cultural expectations and stereotypes related to gender. Such schemes can vary based on family environment and other socializations messages the child receives. Another important part of identification at this stage is the parental identification in which children tend to increase their allegiance and closeness with their parents. It seems that children of early school age are keen observers of their parents and are eager to absorb values and behaviors from them. That means children’s attitudes towards gender and gender-specific roles are to a great extent influenced by the values and attitudes of their parents. A surprising fact revealed by the scholars here is that the children of gay and lesbian parents enjoy good levels of emotional and cognitive well-being. The reason is that such partners often exhibit more openness, mutuality and trust. Also, it becomes evident that the sexual orientation of parents does not influence the gender identification or the emotional and cognitive development of children. The next important point of consideration is gender preference. Gender preference is a combination of gender typicality and gender contentedness. While gender typicality refers to if a child fits well into the particular sex it is in, contentedness means the child loves to be in the sex proscribed by birth. In fact, the perceived preference of the parents has an impact on the parent-child relationship. Thus, there are four major steps in gender identification: developing an understanding of gender, knowing gender role standards, parental identification, and setting gender preference. In all these stages, the process is not fully biological. On the other hand, there are biological, cognitive, and social factors which act in harmony leading to gender identification. Another important area is the development of moral judgment. Moral judgment has three levels; pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional levels. In the pre-conventional level, one only wants to evade punishment or secure reward. That means only benefit is the consideration. In the conventional level, a person thinks if the behavior would be approved by the authorities or whether the judgment is in harmony with the laws of society. Finally, post-conventional level has judgments to preserve social collaboration and cooperation. Thus, the children at early school age have level 1 pre-conventional level of morality. At this stage moral judgment is based on whether an act is punishable or not or based on whether the act would benefit them or the ones they love. Also, moral values are influenced by culture too. In addition, children at early school age are capable of showing empathy and caring. Admittedly, there are various factors that affect school readiness. Some important risk factors are parents with no university education, low income, single-parent families, and families with a foreign language background. It is possible to overcome these hurdles through proper planning and action by parents and authorities. Chapter 8 Chapter 8 is an analysis of the middle childhood period; that is the age from 6 to 11 years. The very first developmental task under consideration at this stage is friendship formation. In the middle childhood period, children are able to expand their relationships to include classmates, teammates and close friends. Being a social animal, human is basically destined to feel secure in a group. That means the children who are able to develop positive friendships enjoy an intellectually and socially stimulating environment. It assures them that they are integrated into the society. However, the problem is that not all children have the same levels of social competence or the ability to make and retain relationships. Studies show that children who enjoyed secure attachments in infancy are more socially competent than other children. It indicates that one’s family background has a role in deciding ones social competence at middle childhood age. Another important task at this stage is self-evaluation. As there is a larger peer group and other people around a child at this stage, there is more room for social comparison, criticism, and approval. Thus, children are better capable of observing, imitating, and developing either self-confidence or self-doubt. Another important task at this stage is team play. Children at this age engage in team activities. This functioning in teams increases fitness and enthusiasm on the one hand, and provides the skills to survive in the future life and in the family group on the other. There is the development of feelings like cooperation, interdependence, subordination, division or labor, competition and so on. Lastly, there is the development of in-group out-group feeling depending on similarities and dissimilarities in appearance and values in various situations. The last point is the impact of exposure to violence on middle childhood. It is found that when there is violence, it leads to prenatal or perinatal disturbances in neurobiological development. That means there is less development of reasoning skills, which finally results in impulsive, reactive responses. The situation is worsened when such children have access to weapons. References Newman, B., & Newman, P. (2012). Development through Life: A Psychosocial Approach (11th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks /Cole ISBN10:1-111-34466-3, ISBN13: 978-1-111-34466-5. Read More